Until recently, I could code on flights. This year, I lost that ability. Again.
It’s happened before. In each case, technology has solved the problem for me. Here’s the history.
I need a laptop. Since 2001, I’ve never been without one on a flight.
I need power. Since 2005, I use dark mode and every low power feature available. (I also became good at finding hidden power outlets.)
I need documentation. Since 2007, I use offline documentation. Windows .CHMs gave way to devdocs.io.
I need my notes. Since 2010, all my notes (Markdown files) are synced via Dropbox automatically.
I need CDNs. Since 2014, I’ve replaced CDNs with local node modules. Note to self: Get a local caching proxy instead.
I need GitHub. Since 2023, I have two laptops. So, I git pull manually before flights. Note to self: Find an automated solution.
I need ChatGPT. Since 2024, I stopped coding without ChatGPT. Now I’ve forgotten how to code. Today, I couldn’t figure out the SQL syntax to group by duration == 0 vs duration != 0. Note to self: Get lightweight local code LLMs.
It’s amazing how the coding technology stack has grown. Also amazing how technology fills the gaps in the scaffolding.